Powder weapons often have the Reload property (page 155). The powder and its ignition materials become useless if wet, and prone to malfunctions and misfires. The weapon has a Malfunction range of 1–2, and fails to fire on any Malfunction , not just the 1 result. Powder is viable as early as Tech 14.

Only available for smoothbore cannons such as the 12-pounder or Ayslish cannon. Rows of ball bearings or flechettes are packed into the barrel, scatter across a wide cone, and grant the properties of a Shotgun (see page 126) and a Medium Blast area of effect.

In place of a solid slug the weapon fires a cluster of small projectiles across a spread pattern. Shot may only be fired from smooth-bore weapons, and is considered the default round for shotguns. Like Shotguns (page 126) the shot grants a +2 bonus to hit any target within Close range, but −2 at Long range. Shot becomes practical at Tech 14, and remains popular far beyond that.

These shells may be loaded into any shotgun. They expand into bags that hit with enough force to stagger most opponents and knock the wind out of them. Bean bag rounds deal nonlethal damage and Stymie any foe they hit.

Gains 10 shots for any firearm that have been blessed by a Miracle worker for the Delphi Council. These rounds are +1 Damage against creatures of Supernatural Evil—including gospog. These bullets are still in short supply, but Beta Clearance teams have preferential access to them.

Fires a depleted uranium or other heavy metal dart at a high muzzle velocity, dealing damage solely through massive kinetic energy. Ignores 10 points of armor from vehicles. Requires Tech 22.

First available at Tech 20, armorpiercing rounds, AP for short, are designed to reduce the effectiveness of armor.

Against armored targets, AP ammunition reduces armor adds by two points (to no lower than zero). Against unarmored targets, AP ammunition has no extra effect.

Found only in heavy weapons and first available at Tech 20 on specialized weapons, HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) rounds are designed to detonate after penetrating vehicular armor.

HEAT ammunition has Armor Piercing 4.

First available at Tech 20, this category includes a variety of ammunition types besides hollow points, such as simple-to-make dum-dum rounds. These are types of ammunition designed to either deform on impact (mushroom) or otherwise expand to create a larger, nastier wound. They are more effective against targets not wearing any armor because impact with the armor causes the projectile to deform before it hits the target’s body.

Hollow point ammunition increases a firearm’s damage value by one point when used on unarmored targets. It has no extra effect against a target with any armor rating at all.

Emerging at Tech 19, these rounds contain various flammable compounds designed to ignite and remain burning when they strike a target. Treat the damage from the weapon as Fire, attacking the lowest Armor value on the target and continuing to burn until doused.

Common for target marking. The shells deal no damage, but instead cover a 10 meter radius with thick, colored smoke (−2 Visibility). The smoke lingers in the area until the firer receives a Setback.

Using phosphorus or similar pyrotechnics, one in five rounds fired burns brightly enough to be visible during daylight, allowing the firer to see the actual trajectory the projectiles follow so corrections can be made. Tracers only have an effect when fired Long Burst. After firing, the tracers grant the firer an Aim for their next shot. Tracers appear at Tech 19.

Sometimes called scattershot or fragmentation rounds. Lower Tech versions used fuses, while Tech 23 and beyond use sensors to detonate at the right altitude, showering highspeed shell fragments or flechettes across the Blast area. Damage drops –2, reducing effectiveness against armored targets, but the weapon gains a Medium Blast area of effect.

First available at Tech 24. Flechette rounds are designed to defeat standard ballistic armor such as Kevlar. A flechette shell is tightly packed with slivers of metal that go through soft armor like a needle through cloth. They are much less effective against hard armor, however.

Flechettes ignore 3 points of soft armor such as leather, IriMesh, or stab vests. Unfortunately flechette rounds don’t ignore any points of hard armor—such as Armor of God, Kanawa security armor, or plate mail—at all.

First available at Tech 25, smart ammunition is not really a bullet but a small, selfguiding missile. The projectile is equipped with a sensor, usually a heat-seeker, and can change its trajectory during flight to track a target. A target must still be visible—the missile doesn’t make sharp turns around corners and the like.

Smart ammunition makes the test for the attack Favored (see page 109). Requires a Smartgun Attachment weapon add-on or the CSI EyeKill Mk. IV to use.

A modulator for energy weapons that pushes the beam out of the visible spectrum. These special power packs are available starting at Tech 25. X-ray shots ignores the properties of Reflec and Diffrax armor.